Got that? "No interests are transferred," they're "just tracked." MERS "holds legal title," but "no interests are transferred." In other words, this virtual entity has all of the rights to act against homeowners, with none of the responsibility. The party facing you in a courtroom is not your legal adversary. They're only pretending to be.
Having a "MOM" doesn't make MERS Inc. the genuine note holder any more than wearing a dress makes Norman Bates his own mother.
"But Mother, she's just a stranger ..."
If your home loan was produced with a "MOM," the court has no record of who issued your original loan. If you need to challenge the legality of that loan, you're dependent on MERS to tell you who the other party really was. When it comes to the title, the courts know nothing - and mother knows best.
That can lead to a Catch-22 situation: When homeowners want to bring the lender to court, MERS is the entity that shows up. But MERS bears no legal responsibility: It didn't issue the loan and can't defend the transaction. And when homeowners or their representatives contact MERS, they're told its not MERS' responsibility to update the court records to reflect the true identity of the title holder.
But that's what the court record is supposed to show.
"MERS Inc." Is Everyone ... and No One
MERS Inc. - the title holder of record - is a legal entity. As far as the courts are concerned - at least the ones that have accepted its use they hold your note. But that's a legal fiction. The real holder of the note is usually a bank you'd recognize - like Bank of America, Wells Fargo, JPMorgan Chase, or Citigroup.
Who are the officers of this fictitious entity?
"Designated officers of the servicers" are "elected" as officers of MERS so that they can act on behalf of their own company while pretending to act for this artificial one.